If There’s a Strong Smell of Chlorinated Lime In My Bedroom, Can I Assume That…

I have been bedeviled by an on-and-off smell in one of the bedrooms of my apartment.

Up until now, I would have described it as sort of like lime (quicklime) mixed with something else.

It would vary in intensities, sometimes nonexistent, but lately for the last 24 hours or so, the smell has been, for the most part, very strong.

Occasionally, over the last few months, the smell of filthy mop had come up my bathroom drain pipe when running water would displace the air in the pipe upwards.

Then, one day recently, there was the smell of sulfur, as you’d find in very hard water, in various parts of my apartment.

Well, back to the smell in my bedroom: I researched lime and its smell, and I came upon a webpage that stated: “In the case of chlorinated lime, the effect is much the same, though it is used more often because of its disinfectant properties which serve to mask effectively the stench of decomposing flesh.”

The smell of lime in the bedroom does have a touch of a chlorine smell to it, plus something else, and that something else has me really wondering what may be going on in the apartment above.

I remembered something about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer’s keeping the remains of his victim(s) in a drum, and I wanted to know if chlorinated lime was used in that drum. Well, the Wikipedia article on Jeffrey Dahmer made no mention of lime at all, but it did state that Dahmer dissolved body parts in acid and flushed them down the toilet. Would this type of thing result in filthy mop smells coming up my drain pipe?

What should I do? I don’t want to look like an alarmist fool reporting tenuous information to the authorities.

What should you do?

When the news shows up to interview the neighbors of the serial killer that just got arrested, act surprised!

Sorry, fat fingered that one.

Anyway, you said you're in an apartment? I'd contact the management and have them come out. Eliminate all the possibilities before you jump to anything major. As Sherlock would say, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Generally I think I would advise telling the super of the building about the odorr.

Could be a host of things causing it from cooking drugs, explosives, decay,..chemical leaks into the drainage system, damaged mechanical systems,etc

Then he can be the bad guy calling ths cops etc if it's warranted.


Good luck!

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

I think you are going to need help on this one...you should get your hands on a wheel and brace and very carefully drill down through the floor board. Then insert a sigmoidoscope or colonic camera and hook it up to Skype. Then get a conference call going and we will take it from there..You are not alone

I would call a plumber, you have sprung a leak...well not you, probably a pipe in concrete somewhere.
Just to add, give off to the water utility as well, they are most likely dumping to much Chlorine in the water in one go, they do that here..they can't have boyos doing a moderate sprinkle regularly, just a big heap in one go, and you get bleached!
Oh, and the Sulphur could be down to a serious farter in the building, or the contents thereof.

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Anonymously post a note on their door saying something like "I know what you did."

On a more serious note are you sure it's not Calcium, Lime, Rust aka CLR? Maybe they're cleaning a stained tub or sink.

originally posted by: smurfy
I would call a plumber, you have sprung a leak...well not you, probably a pipe in concrete somewhere.

I've already considered this.

It's extremely improbable, the floorplan being what it is, that there is a pipe, leaking or otherwise, under the floor of the bedroom.

In any case, there is absolutely no evidence of stain or moisture in the carpeting.

originally posted by: TheLieWeLive
a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Anonymously post a note on their door saying something like "I know what you did."

On a more serious note are you sure it's not Calcium, Lime, Rust aka CLR? Maybe they're cleaning a stained tub or sink.

To repeat: the smell of suspected chlorinated lime is in the bedroom, and it is way too strong and way too frequent to have been used to do any routine cleaning or disinfecting.

The smell of dirty mop came up the bathroom basin drain, on a handful of occasions and not too recently. The sulfur smell was in various other places in the apartment.

Could be Quick Lime in the plaster or mortar

Below is link with more info

topics.wisegeek.com...#

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Whatever the cause or reason, you shouldn't have to tolerate a smell in your apt. that you don't like.

Don't pay any rent until they clean up the mess....

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Whatever the cause or reason, you shouldn't have to tolerate a smell in your apt. that you don't like.

Don't pay any rent until they clean up the mess....

Someone in an earlier reply suggested that one possibility is that the neighbors here are cooking drugs.

Well, years ago, I WAS in a building where there WAS meth lab activity.

The nature of the fumes in that other building was quite different, and let me tell you, exposure to meth lab fumes is nothing short of extreme torture.

Back then, I raised issue with the landlord and with the local government. Do this and press the point just a little too much as I did, and you will be run out of town, as I was, singing "What a Town Without Pity Can Do."

I don't want to go through anything like that again.

While the current foul odor is impacting my health adversely, dealing with this is a walk in the park when compared to dealing with meth lab fumes.

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

You wouldn't seem like an alarmist fool if you told the cops you were concerned about the possibility of a drug lab (that is if the odor is noticeable to them). Once they're there, and if a drug lab isn't the answer, you can half-jokingly mention your other theory and see where it leads.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Whatever the cause or reason, you shouldn't have to tolerate a smell in your apt. that you don't like.

Don't pay any rent until they clean up the mess....

I wouldn't suggest witholding rent, because then you open up a whole other can of worms. It makes it complicated. I would pay my rent, send dated written requests to the landlord, keep copies, keep records of everything, and if worse comes to worst, then move.

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

If the building was built before 1975 I have two words for you.

Jimmy Hoffa!

Does anyone know if a cadaver dog can sense a deceased body if the odor of decomposition is heavily masked by chlorinated lime?

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Cadaver dogs are trained specifically for the scent of human decomp. They can find that scent in pretty much any type of condition. Under water (dog will smell it above the water), buried, buried and covered with caustic substances, stuck inside a wall, and so on.

Dogs are a tool, though. They are capable of having a bad day, just like you and I. They have to be well trained, and have a good handler, for best results.

Long answer ^. Short answer: a slightly qualified yes.

Ask to borrow a cup of sugar.

originally posted by: Shakawkaw
Ask to borrow a cup of sugar.

chlorinated or with lime?

a reply to: theworldisnotenough

Perhaps you have an overly sensitive nose, and perhaps the plumbing in the apartment is incorrectly installed without a proper open air vent that normally draws off the foul smells of materials that go down (and may collect) in the waste pipes.

The air vent are supposed to extend out through the roof, thereby acting as a "chimney" for the foul air. Perhaps in construction some short cuts were made. It is not unusual when a plumber is lazy or wants to save a few feet of pipe or perhaps the design for the building was poorly done such that the correct procedures in the Unified Building Code could not be followed.

(And look under your bed for a body on the perchance it is a different problem.)

I don't recall whether you said earlier, but do you live on the ground floor? Is there a basement?